Evolution of the Hearse to carry the body

The hearse was used to carry the bodies of the deceased to the grave-site. We did not always have motorized hearses which we are used to seeing today. Sometimes a wagon was used or a horse-drawn carriage.

 This was a horse drawn hearse used in the 19th and early part of the 20th century.


source:Urban Remains (n.d.). very rare 19th century american hand carved horse drawn funeral hearse "eternal flame" wood finial. Retrieved September 22, 2013, from http://www.urbanremainschicago.com/very-rare-19th-century-american-hand-carved-horse-drawn-funeral-hearse-eternal-flame-wood-finial.html#ur-desc


 
Below is a collection of hearses from the National Museum of Funeral History located in Texas. 


A rorse-drawn hearse made in 1900, designed especially to carry a child's casket 




A1916 Packard bus, one of only two that are in existence 




A1921 RockFalls hearse that was manufactured in Sterling, Illinois. The vehicle measures eight feet in height and more than 19 feet in length and is powered by a 29-horsepower Continental Red Seal engine. 




Collection of hearses from 1926 at the National Museum of Funeral History
  


Railway carts were typically used to transport caskets via freight cars. The cart pictured below was used during the 1930s.( this has been restored)




1938 Packard Hearse (National Museum of Funeral History)

National Museum of Funeral History (n.d.). National Museum of Funeral History. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.nmfh.org/exhibits/hearses/gallery.php

A modern day hearse may look similar to this
 
HearseWorks: 2005 Cadillac Landau Coach by Bennett Funeral Coaches. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2012, from http://www.hearse.com/vehicles/motorized/cadillac/2005/bennett/landau_coach/v001_PBandJ/pages/pa.html